Closure for collapsible tubes



Dec. 6, 1938. BAKER 2,138,992

CLOSURE FOR GOLLAPSIBLE TUBES Filed March 8, 1937 Fig 3 INVENTOR Marie Baker Em T62. W

ATT RNEY-S Patented Dec. 6, 1938 eArENT OFFICE.

ff J FoRfcoLLu sna f "'1' r f -f Marie Baker, Salemg-Orcg.

" JApplication March 8,.193fi, Se rlal No. 129,532

cram; (01. 2.2 1460) Q invention relates to collapsibletubes, such as the tubes used to contain and dispense toothpaste, shaving cream, andrvarious plastic and semi-liquid. substances, and

to means for closing or sealing the-tube m.

An object of -my. invention;is provide a .col-.

lapsible tube with closure or cap which Q 1 when it is attached to the tuba can be readily manipulated so as to permit egress of thetube contents. and alsoreadily manipulated ,furthento seal the.

tube and prevent egress of suchcontents'wheii no longer desired, su ch manipulation beingdone. without the, ne es ity:- removing, the cap from h e a d. l hvl ie ei i t i h i rene =.e 'casioned bytthe dropping. or losing ofthecan,

Another and very important objectpf Jmym ventioni's'jto provide adispensing and'sealing ap for collapsible"tubesfwhich' maybe 50' con-.

structed as to permit'ev'ery particle'of the material delivered from the tube to, be easily'removed from all exposed surfaces of the, cap, thereby providing a cap whichis highly sanitary,and' a' cap on which dried particles of the material delivered from. the tube will be prevented from collecting, and in which there will be no clogging of thecap. outlet by such collection of dried material.

Another object of my invention is to provide such a closure or cap'which, in one form, can be readily attached to any standard collapsible tube container. and, when desired, removed from one tube to another I F A furtherobject is to provide a cap on a collapsible tube which will enablethe tube user always to be assured of the complete opening or closing of the cap,,even,whe n the tube is used in the dark. I

A still further object of my invention is to provide a cap meeting the requirements above set forth which will be simple of construction and in expensive in manufacture.

The manner in which the above and incidental objects areattain'ed will be apparent from the following description in reference to the attached drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is an elevation showing my invention applied to collapsible tube of standard make;

Fig. 2'is' a top plan view of the cap of Fig. 1 illustrating the cap in a half open position;

Fig. 3 is a vertical medial sectional view of the cap and upper portion of the tube taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 4 and drawn on a larger scale then Figs. 1 and 2;

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the cap and tube drawn on the same scale as Fig. 3 showing the cap completely closed; I

Fig. 5 isa topplan view of the inner of the two members of which the cap in Figs. 1 to 4 is comprised, drawn on the same scale as Figs. 3 4 L' I Fig.16;is acorresponding side elevation of the member showningFi 5;

Fig. 7 is a view in perspective of my cap illustrating optional manner in which the outer erim 'marbe 1 a .Referring first to Fig. 3, my cap. in oneembOQiltlIlb Qf lny'invention, comprises two cylindrical members, one. within the other, namely theiinnermember [and outer member IS. The innerinernberfhwhich is shown also in Figs. 5 and 6, is a hollow cylinder with the'lower portion of theinside, surface of. the cylindrical ,wall I!) threadedas at 10c (Fig. 3), the interior, diameter of the cylindrical wall I and the threads Hia being of proper size toe'nable the inner member I to be screwed onto the ordinary neck of a collapsible tube 20 of standard make. The inner member 1 is made with a fiat top outer surface 9 and smooth annular outer side surface 8. The top and side surfaces serve as bearing surfaces for the outer member [5. The screw threads 'lfla terminate in an annular shoulder l l which bears against the top of the threaded neck of the collapsible tube 20 when my cap is in position on the tube. An aperture I2 is made in the top of the inner member I, this aperture being preferably segmental in shape, as shown in Fig. 5, and the aperture is placed entirely to one side of the center of the circular top surface 9. A groove 13 is provided in the outer cylindrical wall surface 8 of the inner member I and extends around such outer wall surface parallel to the top and slightly below the'top, the said groove l3 extend-' ing slightly, more than half the distance around the cylindrical outside'wall.

The interior surfaces of theouter member l are made so as to permit the said outer member to fit closely overthe inner member I but to be freely rotatable on the inner member. The top of the outer member I5 is provided with an aper-'. turell conforming exactly in-size'and location with the aperture. l2of the inner member 1, so that when the outer member 15 is rotated with respect to inner member I, the two apertures I1 and I2 can be brought into exact registration. Since both the apertures are located entirely to one side of the common center or axis of said outer and inner members, it is possible also, by rotating the outer member with respect to the inner memher, to have the apertures brought to exactly opposite positions on either side of the center axis .so that these two apertures do not overlap each The beveling of these edges is an important fea.

ture for, while my cap will work satisfactorily if the edges of the aperture I! are not beveled, the beveling aids in the removal of any residue of the material from within the tube which may cling to the edge of the aperture ll when the cap is closed It will be apparent that, with the cap in the closed position shown in Fig. 4, the edges of the aperture l1 and the exposed portion of the top surface of inner member I within the aperture I! can be readily cleaned by wiping the top of the cap with a brush or by bringing the top of the cap into contact with running water from a faucet. f

When the outer member i5 is' put in place over the inner member 1, in the assembling ofr'ny cap, a detent or restraining element such asa pin I4 is inserted tightly in a hole provided thru the cylindrical wall of the outer member (see Fig. 3) in' registration with the groove ii on theouter surface of the inner member 1. The pin I4 is set so that its inner end projects into and fits loosely in the groove 13; the diameter of the inner end of pin H being slightly less than the width of the groove 13. The co-acting pin it and groove [3 thus prevent separation of the inner and outer members I and P5 of the cap, but permit the outer member to be rotated thru an arc of 180 with respect to the inner member, the groove 1 3 extending slightly more than half way around the outside of the cylindrical wall of the inner member l, as already explained. Further rotation of the outer member beyond the 180 turn permitted by the pin id and groove l3 will, by causing the rotation of the inner member, serve either to screw the cap onto the threaded neck of the collapsible tube or unscrew the cap from said neck, depending upon the direction of rotation. When the cap is screwed onto the neck of the tube, the top edge of the tube neck is forced firmly against the shoulder H at the top of the threads i \la, thus causing the inner member I to sit firmly on the tube neck and to oifer a slight resistance to any unscrewing therefrom.

Attaching this cap to a collapsible tube of standard size is a very simple operation, and when the contents of the tube have been used up, the cap is easily removed and attached to a fresh tube. It is my intention to make the cap in stock sizes to fit on tubes of various standardized makes and sizes. The cap may be made of any suitable metal or of cheaper material such as bakelite, etc. When my cap has been attached to a tube and the substance in the tube is to be dispensed thru the cap, the outer member I! is turned until aperture l1 moves into registration with aperture l2. Then when it is desired to close the tube,'the outer member I! is given a half turn in the reverse direction, the edges I! and 19 of the apertures I1 out of! the passage of the substance from the tube. The aperture I1 is then completely closed, and any'surplus deposit of the substance whichmay cling to the sides of the aperture is easily removed; as already explained, thus providing a complete and absolutely clean closure for the tube.

The rotation of the outer member on the inner member in the opening and closing 0! the cap has no effect on the position of the inner) member because the pin l4 travels freely on the groove l3 and'because the inner member is firmly screwed onto the neck of the tube as previously mentioned. The user of the tube with this cap as described can tell, merely by attempting to turn the cap, when it is completely open and when it is completely closed, and thus could use the tube conveniently even in the dark. A countersunk screw may be substituted for the pin H.

For convenience in facilitating the turning of outer member IS, the perimeter 2| of said outer member may be made in the shape of a polygon with flat sides, such as'the hexagonal shape in Figs. l, 2, '3 and 4, or the'perlmeter may be knurled or grooved in any way to'provide a suitable finger grip, a modified form beingillustrated at 22 in Fig} 7; It is not my intention to limit the external shape and design of my cap to any particular form, since obviously many variations in form and design may be made without departing from the principle of my invention.

I claim:

A cap for collapsible tubes and the like having an externally threaded discharge neck, said cap comprising a cup-shaped inner member having an internally threaded cylindrical wall, whereby said inner member may be screwed on said neck, an aperture in the top of said inner member lying entirely to one side of the axis of said wall, a groove on the outer surface of said cylindrical wall perpendicuuar to its axis and extending part way around said surface, an outer cupshaped member fitting over said inner member and rotatable thereon, an aperture in the top of said outer member lying entirely to one side of the axis of rotation of said outer member corresponding in size to the aperture in said inner member and adapted to be registrable therewith, a pin extending thru said outer member and engaging said groove of said inner member, whereby to hold said outer member on said inner member and permit limited rotation thereon, said openings in said outer and inner member being so arranged with respect to said pin and said groove that rotation of the outer member to its limit in one direction on said inner member will cause 'said openings to be in registration with each other tration with each other.

MARIE BAKER. 

